What does the Cross Traffic Does Not Stop plaque mean?
The Cross Traffic Does Not Stop plaque (MUTCD W4-4P) is a warning sign under the federal Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, the national standard the states build from. You are stopping but the road you are crossing is not controlled, so wait for a full gap.
Source: MUTCD 11th Edition, Chapter 2C, Table 2C-1, checked 2026-09-09.
What shape and color is the Cross Traffic Does Not Stop plaque?
| MUTCD code | W4-4P |
|---|---|
| Group | Warning signs |
| Shape | Horizontal rectangle plaque below a stop sign |
| Color | Yellow background, black legend and border |
What a horizontal rectangle means. Usually guidance: direction, distance and destination. Also used for some regulatory plaques mounted under another sign. Rectangles are the loosely assigned outline in the system, though, so on this sign the shape alone does not tell you its family; the color and the legend do.
What yellow means. General warning of a permanent condition ahead.
Warning signs. A diamond reports a condition and orders nothing. What you do about it is left to you, and that gap between a report and an order is what test writers keep probing.
What is the Cross Traffic Does Not Stop plaque often mistaken for?
The ALL WAY plaque (R1-3P), which is red-on-white and means the opposite. This is the pair that causes real collisions.
|  |
|---|---|
| GroupWarning signs | GroupRegulatory signs |
| ShapeHorizontal rectangle plaque below a stop sign | ShapeHorizontal rectangle mounted below the stop sign |
| ColorYellow background, black legend and border | ColorRed background, white legend and border |
| What it meansYou are stopping but the road you are crossing is not controlled, so wait for a full gap. | What it meansEvery approach to this intersection is stop-controlled, so all drivers must stop. |
What are the other warning signs?
All 55 warning signs on one page, or every US road sign by shape and color.
Test yourself on this sign and the rest of the set with a road signs practice test for Florida, Texas or California.
The artwork is the federal design itself, which the manual dedicates to the public domain in MUTCD 11th Edition, Part 1, Section 1D.06, checked 2026-09-09. The Interstate Shield, the 511 pictograph and the National Scenic Byway graphic are named exceptions and are not reproduced anywhere on this site.
Source: Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, 11th Edition. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the Federal Highway Administration or any state agency.